Battle of Baupte

The Battle of Baupte occurred on 15 June 1944 during Operation Overlord in World War II. The US 101st Airborne Division and US 82nd Airborne Division fought to secure the town of Baupte, aiming to shore up the southern flank and allow the 82nd to move up to clear the road to Cherbourg by taking Saint-Sauveur-la-Vicomte.

The 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions were supposed to meet up at Baupte, but they had not yet reached the end of town when German panzerschreck troops opened fire on the Allied tanks. The 101st, which arrived first, would have to clear the Germans from the town. Sergeant Joseph Hartsock's 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd PIR spearheaded the capture of the town itself. With the help of Edward H. Brooks' US 2nd Armored Division, the American paratroops succeeded in advancing down every street, with the infantry moving ahead of the armor to eliminate German Flak 88 positions before waiting on the armor to continue the advance. Several German panzers were engaged and destroyed both in town and in the surrounding countryside, where the 82nd joined in the fight. The Germans were forced to retreat from Baupte, and the town fell into American hands.

Later that day, however, the Germans took up strong positions in the hedgerows south of town, and Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick F. Cassidy ordered Hartsock's squad to clear them out and destroy their Flak 88 positions. The paratroops used TNT to clear a path through the hedgerows, and they had to brave machine-gun fire as they flanked the German positions and took out their gunners. Later, they had to charge uphill in the face of Flak 88 fire, and the paratroops managed to destroy all of the artillery pieces with satchel charges after bravely assaulting them. After destroying the last flak gun, 2nd Squad had to defend their position from a German counterattack, with several half-tracks and infantry of the German 91st Infantry Division arriving to assault the paratroops. The 2nd Squad succeeded in holding its position until Cassidy and another 502nd detachment ambushed and destroyed the German half-tracks. The Americans also succeeded in capturing some German plans, and 2nd Squad was sent to deliver the plans to the 82nd at Saint-Sauveur. Ultimately, Hartsock and his squad volunteered to take part in the bloody Battle of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte alongside their 82nd Airborne friends.